Cemetery thieves steal nearly $100,000 in vases in East Stroudsburg

Stroud Area Regional Police are investigating the theft of at least 243 bronze vases valued at nearly $100,000 from the Prospect Cemetery in East Stroudsburg.

MARTA GOUGER

Stroud Area Regional Police are investigating the theft of at least 243 bronze vases valued at nearly $100,000 from the Prospect Cemetery in East Stroudsburg.

The theft of 71 vases was first reported on Feb. 2, according to SARP Capt. Brian Kimmins. On March 28, 172 more vases were reported stolen.

Bronze is an alloy made from copper and zinc and Kimmins said each vase weighs about four pounds. The vases stolen would bring about $1.75 a pound in scrap yards, or about $1,700 overall, Kimmins said.

The retail value of the vases is between $300 and $400 each, a for total value of $73,000 to $97,000.

Vases typically mount on a memorial plate. Kimmins didn't know if thefts have been reported in other cemeteries in the county, but they're not unheard of.

Over Easter weekend, a half-dozen bronze vases were reported missing from Cathedral Cemetery, according to the Scranton Times-Tribune.

Kevin Beck, superintendent of the West Scranton cemetery, estimated that between 200 and 250 vases have been reported missing over the past five years. About 100 were reported missing in 2011.

The thefts apparently happen during the winter, when weather reduces the number of gravesite visitors, and are typically reported in the spring.

In November 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported the theft of thousands of vases at cemeteries across the country.

In one case, instead of just dumping the flowers, thieves would stick them in the ground, making it seem as if nothing was wrong to anyone driving by.

Companies that sell cemetery supplies are even beginning to offer alternatives to bronze vases because of the thefts. For example, Thompson Monuments Inc. in Webster City, Iowa, recommends zinc, which is lighter and less expensive than bronze, and is worth much less as scrap, according to the Wall Street Journal.

One company, Hinrichs & Gleeson LLC, specializes in a generic vase to replace ones stolen from cemeteries. It's called the "Peaceful Security Vase" and costs $36, according to the company's website.

This is just another step in the thefts of scrap metals around the Poconos.

For the past few years, thieves have been stealing copper tubing from job sites and even ripping copper pipes out of vacant houses.

Monroe County Crime Stoppers is offering information leading to an arrest in the thefts from the East Stroudsburg cemetery. Call 1-866-370-1518 if you have information.